Premiership giants Manchester United have appointed Gary Neville as the club's new captain.

The England international was confirmed as Roy Keane's successor by manager Sir Alex Ferguson on Friday.

Neville, 31, has missed three months of the season after he injured his groin in the Champions League qualifier against Hungarian side Debreceni in August.

But he has now recovered to full fitness and will begin his new role against Portsmouth at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Ryan Giggs, Neville and Ruud van Nistelrooy had all been shortlisted for the role.

Following the departure of Keane, van Nistelrooy captained the club for five games, including matches against Chelsea, Charlton and Villarreal.

Neville made his United debut over 13 years ago against Russian outfit Torpedo Moscow in the Uefa Cup in September 1992.

He has gone on to make 479 first team appearances, scoring seven goals in the process.